1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a service providing system and a method therefor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a service providing system in which different environments, such as a SIP environment, operating based on a session initiation protocol (SIP), and the Web (World Wide Web) environment, are made cooperative with each other to get plural applications cooperate with one another to present services to clients connected to the systems.
The present invention also relates to a service providing method in which plural applications operating in different environments are made cooperative with one another to present services. More particularly, the present invention provides a communication process management type of application (AP) in which, e.g. the log of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communication, booted from a Web browser, is managed in association with the state of accomplishment of the objective of the communication in order for the system to support execution of the communication and the accomplishment of the objective.
2. Description of the Background Art
Heretofore, no endeavor has been made to make the SIP based application (AP) environment cooperate with the Web-based application (AP) environment, but the SIP based AP environment and the Web-based AP environment have been implemented as different AP environments. The reason therefor may be such that the conventional Web-AP environment is used for constructing an information system for business organizations or information providing type AP services supplied by the ISPs (Internet Service Providers), whilst the SIP-AP environment is used for constructing telephone-based services. That is, both systems are used for different purposes.
For cooperation and interconnection of different server environments, implemented by these different communication protocols, a system is generally used which is mediated by a protocol conversion gateway. As a protocol converting gateway, there is employed an HTTP-SIP conversion gateway for implementing interconnection conversion functions for the HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) protocol, a protocol for the Web environment, and the SIP protocol, the protocol for the SIP environment.
The HTTP-SIP conversion gateway renders it possible to implement only simple functions which come into play in accordance with a protocol converting rule which is built into the HTTP-SIP conversion gateway at the outset. It has, however, been recognized that, in an application in which plural persons control the situations of plural communications for a common objective, such control cannot be flexibly carried out with a sole communication system exploiting the HTTP-SIP conversion gateway or with the conversion gateway.
As an example of such an application difficult to implement, a system of a relatively large scale could be proposed. More specifically, a system could be proposed in which usually plural businessmen or system engineers (SEs) proceed to business affairs while they communicate with plural contact men or personnel in charge from a customer company. In the course of this proposal, plural men execute plural communications, such as business negotiations or technical proposals. In executing the communications, it has been recognized to be desirable to construct communication systems on the objective-by-objective basis.
It is also desirable that the progress in accomplishing the objectives is made associated with the presence on a database in a SIP environment to report the changes in the statuses or the changing statuses resultant from the execution of plural communications. However, should the system be constructed in this way, the system would have to reserve HTTP transactions for prolonged time. That is, the system proposed may not be said proper from the perspective of efficacious utilization of the resources or implementation of a user interface as a practical application.